Books
‘All the books you write change you’: Maggie O’Farrell on Hamnet, Hollywood and family secrets
After the Oscars whirl around her Shakespeare film, the novelist answers the Nerve Q&A and talks about her new book, which explores the hidden lives of her relatives, pioneering mapmakers in 19th-century Ireland. Interview by Lisa O'Kelly
Q&A
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‘They are weapons of war’: Gisèle Pelicot on the tech platforms that facilitate rape
The woman whose courage at trial transformed the debate around abuse talks to Lucia Osborne-Crowley about survival, reclaiming confidence – and shutting down the tools of sexual exploitation
News
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‘It costs less than we think to stand up for truth’: author Yassmin Abdel-Magied on the power of ‘wilful women’
The Sudanese Australian writer, a former oil rig engineer, talks to Lucia Osborne-Crowley about her new novel featuring a female outsider trying to stop a Deepwater Horizon-type disaster – and being a writer on Emmerdale
Q&A
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‘Women are being believed’: Virginia Giuffre’s ghostwriter Amy Wallace on the global impact of Nobody’s Girl
The bestselling memoir by the late Epstein survivor and campaigner has been crowned book of the year – and in her absence, her co-author has become the public face of its powerful legacy. Interview by Lucia Osborne-Crowley
News
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‘Oestrogen gives me patience!’: psychotherapist Philippa Perry on hormones, whodunnits and the power of hope
The agony aunt and Nerve columnist talks to Ursula Kenny about how her life as a shrink – and the joys of getting older – inspired the detective in her debut novel
Q&A
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Stonehenge, carnival, folk and fascists: how Zakia Sewell went in pursuit of the real story of Britain
The 6 Music DJ and writer, whose new book explores her mixed-race heritage and the ancient myth of ‘Albion’, tells Michaela Makusha everyone has a stake in a complex, nuanced country
Q&A
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Author Patrick Radden Keefe: ‘I don't take lightly the fact that the book will be in their lives for ever'
The award-winning writer of Empire of Pain on the importance of long form journalism, the joy of doing his job – and why his new title feels like his most intimate yet
Q&A
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‘My father was my first dictator’: activist Loubna Mrie on oppression, murder and escape from Assad’s Syria
In her raw new memoir, the campaigner reveals how her political awakening came at a horrifying cost to her and those she loved – and why, even so, she still believes in the power of defiance, writes Natasha Walter
Culture
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Political writer Ash Sarkar: ‘This one's really going to get me into trouble...’
The author of Minority Rule answers the Nerve Q&A - on why she's not despondent about politics, the appeal of Zack Polanski and why 'handwash only' means what it says. Interview by Ursula Kenny
Q&A
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The Turkish writer and thinker Ece Temelkuran: ‘We're going through a political crisis, but also a moral crisis’
The exiled author of How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Fascism, returns with a new book exploring how dissidents can find new communities. She talks about resilience, the comfort of trees and why the future is female. Interview by Hephzibah Anderson
Culture
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The Recommender: Eliza Clark
The British novelist, author of the acclaimed Boy Parts, shares her favourite recent cultural discoveries
Books
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'There has to be a way to actively oppose these thugs without losing ourselves': novelist George Saunders on life in America now
The Booker prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, whose new novel imagines the last hours of an oil tycoon, talks to Dorian Lynskey about Trump, truth and how to reconcile empathy with political opposition
Culture
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The Recommender: Ali Smith
The multi-award-winning, Booker-shortlisted novelist picks her current cultural favourites
Books
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The Nerve's Best Books of 2025
From a moving rumination on class to a gripping novel about desire, our team of writers and editors each recommend a title they’ve loved over the past 12 months – and one they’re hoping to get for Christmas
Culture
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The Recommender: Derek Owusu
The fast-rising British novelist on his latest art and culture discoveries
Culture
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